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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26178802">The Archer's Shinai</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/glassdamask/pseuds/glassdamask'>glassdamask</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Gen, Inferiority Complex, Light Angst, Pep talks, Rain, Training, motivation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:35:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26178802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/glassdamask/pseuds/glassdamask</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Takumi finds a sparring partner and confidant.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit | Kamui | Corrin &amp; Takumi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Sparring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>What should have been bathed in warm spring sunlight was instead being assaulted by downpour and unrelenting wind.</p><p>  Given the sudden weather, Corrin opted to train inside for the day, leading her to twist and wind her way through Shirasagi's many halls in pursuit of a sparring room.</p><p>  As she walked, her eyes trailed the tapering wallpaper that barely concealed the wood underneath. Not wanting to admit she was lost to anyone, she was careful to stay quiet.</p><p>  She, thankful to actually find it, soon stopped before a pair of screen doors dividing the hall from the training room. Several grunts heard from inside gave her pause, and she waited a moment to try and consider who it might be. The voice was a man's, no doubt—but it wasn't deep enough to belong to the crown prince. Considering most retainers would never think to go this deep into the castle to simply train, it left only one person in that room. Coming to this conclusion, she slowly opened the doors.</p><p>  Takumi was in the center of the room, his back to her, and so failed to notice her silent entry.</p><p>  The screens were quietly shut behind her, as he went on with his practice, unaware of an audience.</p><p>  He was swinging his shinai over his head before forcefully bringing it down, again and again. She watched in awe, entranced at the seamless rhythm he'd created with a simple shinai.</p><p>  Eventually, he stopped, lowering his weapon and leaning against it as one would a cane. It was during this break in training that she decided to let her presence be known through a clearing of her throat. Takumi whipped his head around, but relaxed upon seeing her lingering in the doorway.</p><p>  "Ah, sister," he began, and she was relieved to no longer hear a malicious tone tacked onto the name. She was also relieved to know that he wasn't interested in how long she was standing there, gawking—the last thing she needed was his teasing. "It's nice to see you," he struggled to say without pausing for breath.</p><p>  He brought the sword up and around his head, resting it against the nape of his neck, pulling on both sides with his hands, as if stretching with it. Their eyes met once during this display, but the gaze was soon dropped when Corrin's attention was averted from the young man's. She pretended to be caught up with the dreary scenery beyond the room's open curtains.</p><p>  She eventually broke the suddenly awkward silence with a question. "Mind my asking how come you're training with a sword?"</p><p>  Takumi grinned at her—a rare sight—and answered pleasantly enough. "My main weapon used to be a sword, actually." After a pause, he added, "But after a while, I switched to archery." Corrin nodded, honestly intrigued, and asked another question.</p><p>  "Is it alright if I train with you?" She'd remembered Hinata mentioning Takumi's surprisingly good skill with a sword, and now she was itching to see whether or not it was just an exaggeration.</p><p>  Eventually the surprise of her request drained from his features, a confident smirk replacing it. "If you can keep up, sure!"</p><p>  He drew his shinai out from behind him, taking a fighting stance eerily similar to Hana's. Corrin scrambled to find a practice katana of her own.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Confiding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Too slow!" Takumi said, easily dodging her mad dash toward him. She stumbled, trying to regain balance quick enough to barely block his downward strike.</p><p>  They'd been practicing for a while now without a single break, but pride kept her from mentioning it—as with him.</p><p>  In fact, he was more than prideful enough for the both of them. "You know you're going to have to adapt to my speed if you wanna even come close to my level!"</p><p>  She nearly fell down when shoved back by the push of his shinai, but caught herself to, once again, block his merciless strikes.</p><p>  However, once she repositioned herself, she felt an immediate, sharp pain in her right shoulder; he'd jabbed her with his sword. She cried out in pain, yet still stood her ground, not about to admit defeat.</p><p>  He paused for a moment, worried about whether to continue, but soon went back into his fighting stance.</p><p>  Corrin dove straight for the prince, seemingly ready to land a clear hit on his right arm. He brought his elbow up in an attempt to block it.</p><p>  Before her sword could make any contact, however, she thrust her aim down and across his body, hitting his side—instantly knocking the wind out of him. He gasped and fell to his knees, dropping his sword in the process.</p><p>  "You beat...me..." he barely managed to say. Despite his surprise, his face was twisted in a smile. Her panting was almost as bad as his as she extended a hand; he took it and struggled to his feet, still wheezing. "You know..." he started to say, but paused to take another breath. "When I used to use swords, Ryoma and I trained together—<em>seriously...</em>" With a rueful smile aimed at his feet, he mumbled, "he totally wiped the floor with me..." A humorless laugh escaped him.</p><p>  "It was so humiliating that I took up archery almost immediately after..."</p><p>  He loudly exhaled, relieved to find that he was able to do so without wheezing, but this solace quickly morphed into shame. He cringed in the silence that followed, attention still fixed on his shoes—there was no way in hell he'd meet her eyes.</p><p>  Despite his suddenly desperate wishes, instead of simply waving off his random confession, she decided to pursue it. "So you just lost and gave up?" She sounded baffled—of course she was, he just made a complete idiot out of himself! "But why—why would you?"</p><p>  "Oh please, like you wouldn't?" he countered. "You didn't see how badly Ryoma beat me—he was practically telling me to drop the sword and do something else!" His voice cracked a bit by the end of his words.</p><p>  Beyond frustrated, he made an attempt to leave, but she stopped him at the doorway.</p><p>  "Move, Corrin," he ordered, mustering his most serious court tone in the process. He reverted back to his full stature, relatively taller than his sparring partner.</p><p>  The attempt to intimidate her failed; she simply rose on her tiptoes to meet him. What's more, she stretched both her arms out, so as to completely block any attempts at escape. "Please, do something for me, then." Her voice never once wavered under his intense scrutiny—it just made the embarrassment burn worse.</p><p>  "Fine, what is it?" he demanded, hoping that impatience would mask his humiliation.</p><p>  "If you fail at something, don't let it stop you from trying again!" She thought to grab onto his shoulders to shake some sense into him, but thought better of it. "No matter how bad it was, or how many times it happens, let it inspire you to try again!" Her voice was filled with an unrestrained passion, the kind that could only embody herself that perfectly—he felt himself pale in comparison.</p><p>  Picking up on how he seemed to visibly deflate at her words, she lowered her voice before going on. "Anyway, you know Ryoma wouldn't purposely embarrass you like that—he fought 'seriously' against you to train you, that's all!"</p><p>  She said it as if it was really that simple—it couldn't be, could it?</p><p>  As his scowl softened, he muttered, "I guess that makes sense..." Despite how forced his words were, she smiled, knowing that that was the best she'd get out of him at the moment. And that's alright.</p><p>  Watching her face light up like it did, he offered a small smile in return, despite himself. After a moment, he thought to say, "You know, you can be really naive sometimes." They both shared a chuckle at that.</p><p>  She eventually remembered to lower her arms just as Takumi replaced the practice swords in their original places. Following him out into the hall, she suddenly felt cocky. "So," she began, the smile evident in her tone. "How about you let me know next time you're training, so I can join in again?"</p><p>  He snorted—another rarity—as he considered it. "Yeah," he conceded. "I'd definitely like a rematch!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>originally made 9.24.16, rewritten 8.17.18, and RErewritten 8.29.20</p></blockquote></div></div>
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